


The Gift of the Junimos

by miceenscene



Series: Harvey & Naomi [4]
Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Inspired by The Gift of the Magi - O. Henry, New Relationship, Winter Star, holiday fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:33:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21833734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miceenscene/pseuds/miceenscene
Summary: Winter Star has come once again to the valley, giving Harvey & his new girlfriend a little bit of a crisis. Will they find the perfect gifts in time? Will they be able to afford them if they do? Will the author finish this fic in time for the holidays? Who knows, let's find out together!
Relationships: Harvey/Female Player (Stardew Valley)
Series: Harvey & Naomi [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1549033
Comments: 33
Kudos: 92





	1. Chapter 1

_ Winter 23 _

_ 7:51 am _

_ Forty-eight hours remaining _

It was snowing again, Harvey noted as he gazed out his kitchen window. It snowed pretty much all winter long in Pelican Town, but the snows surrounding Winter Star always felt extra special. Something about snowflakes lit by colorful twinkle lights was nearly magical. After the long dark winter, finally brighter times were ahead, heralded by one of the most joyous days of the year. And this Winter Star was going to be the best one yet.

Determined, Harvey finished off his first coffee of the day and set the mug in the sink, then reached for the cupboard above. All he kept in there was a very  _ very _ old bottle of apple cider vinegar and an unused fondue set a well-meaning relative had given him years ago. He pushed aside the vinegar and felt around for a moment, then his hand closed around its target. Ah-ha. He pulled down the special battery pack he’d gotten Maru for the Feast of Winter Star. Perfect.

How he’d gotten a reputation as a mediocre gift giver, he wasn’t entirely sure--though he did suspect that the year he gave Caroline a tea set may have had something to do with it. But this was the year that changed. As soon as he got notice of his Secret Friend a few weeks ago, Harvey started scouring for ideas of what to give her. The battery pack may have seemed strange, but he knew that it was just what she needed to finish her current project. He’d also happened upon a package of strawberries in the store yesterday that seemed to be quite good despite the season, which was just the icing on the cake.

At his modeling table, he’d set out all the supplies to wrap the gift. With the precision of a surgeon, Harvey crisply wrapped the pack in shimmering purple paper--Maru’s favorite color. After setting it in a place of honor, Harvey grabbed his lab coat and headed down to start the work day. Yes, this Winter Star was going to be perfect.

He flicked on the lights downstairs and set about waking up the ancient computer at the front desk. Only a few minutes later, Maru stepped in, bringing a burst of cold wind and a few snowflakes with her.

“Hi, Doc,” she said, unwrapping her scarf that was mummified around her face and brushing the remaining snow off her jacket. 

“Good morning, Maru,” he replied, glancing up from the already struggling machine. One of these days they’d have to replace it.

Maru ducked into the back to drop off her coat and when she returned, she set a thermos down on the counter. “Guess who I saw this morning,” she said in a sing-songy tone with a knowing smile. 

He recognized that thermos. Good things always arrived in thermoses from Cherry Wine Farm. “Penny?” he replied, hoping he was playing this game right. 

She laughed once. “You’re a  _ very _ bad liar, Doc. Naomi asked me to give this to you.” She pushed the thermos towards him.

There was a little tag attached to the side. ‘To my honey-- I’m experimenting with some hazelnut flavoring. Let me know what you think. --from your honey.’ A dopey smile broke out across his face as he opened it and inhaled. Delicious. Maru chuckled at him and Harvey didn’t care one bit.

“My honey, huh?” she said, lifting a quizzical eyebrow and resting her elbows on the counter. “Things must be finally getting somewhere between you two.”

“We’ve… been on a few dates.”

Maru gasped loudly in faux shock. “I know. Saw you two looking cozy at Open Mic Night and then Caroline said she saw you guys canoodling behind the clinic on your birthday.”

Well, if Caroline suspected anything then that meant the entire town knew too. Still, Harvey really couldn’t bring himself to mind terribly. He hoped Naomi felt the same.

“It wasn’t canoodling, it was a hug,” he tried to clarify.

“Mm, I don’t know. Caroline is a  _ very  _ reliable source for factual information,” she said, sarcasm dripping off her words. He had to laugh a little. “Are you happy?” Maru asked, sounding sincere now.

He nodded. “Very.”

“Good.” She rapped her knuckles on the counter and stood up. “So what did you get Naomi for Winter Star then?”

“Oh, she’s not my Secret Friend.” Harvey shook his head and turned back to the computer which had finally decided to turn on. “But I got something that I think my person will really like.” He smiled to himself as he logged in. Few things were more satisfying than bragging about the quality gifts you were going to give someone.

“But what did you get Naomi?” Maru asked.

Harvey looked back at her, shaking his head. “She’s not my Secret Friend,” he repeated.

“But she’s your  _ girlfriend _ .”

He blinked at her once. Twice. And then horror shot down his spine to curdle in his stomach. “... _ oh Yoba _ .”

Maru’s eyes went wide. “Wait, you didn’t get her anything???”

Panic joined the horror in the world’s worst cocktail--stinging and bitter. How could he have not thought  _ once _ about getting something for Naomi for Winter Star?? He’d been so focused on delivering for his Secret Friend that he’d entirely forgotten about his Girlfriend. What kind of boyfriend was he?? 

“No??” he finally replied in a rather high pitched voice, beginning to pace in the small area behind the counter. Oh this was bad. This was very bad. This was really very bad.

She shook her head. “You’ve been single for too long, Doc.”

He turned back to her, hands shoving through his hair. “ _ What am I going to do?!? _ ”

“You’re going to give Shane that shot he’s always wanted with Naomi that’s what you’re gonna do.”

That sent a new flavor of panic rushing to join the rest. “ _ WHAT!? _ ”

Maru held up her hands. “Whoa, whoa--I was kidding. …Mostly.”

“Mostly??”

“Shane just doesn’t know how to respond properly to human decency is all,” she said, quickly, as if it made the news any better.

Okay, okay, okay, setting the Shane revelation aside, how bad was this really? Spell it out, Harvey, symptom by symptom. Naomi was a good friend, but a relatively new girlfriend. They’d only been on a handful of dates. And one of those had been giving him his lifelong dream, complete with picnic and some wonderful… ahem, kissing. Plus, he already knew that he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Oh, yeah. This was really very terribly bad.

The panic and the horror finally bubbled down into good old fashioned despondency. He puddled across the counter, burying his head in his arms. “Great, just great. I’m going to disappoint the woman I love on our first, possibly  _ only _ , Winter Star.” 

“Wait, love? You  _ love _ Naomi?”

He looked up. He’d figured that Naomi should probably be the first person he told this revelation, but the cat was already out of the bag. “I… yes. Haven’t told her yet, but I do.”

“Well, damn, Doc. That’s adorable.” She chuckled a little and patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry. You’ll find something.  _ And _ I’ll help you.”

That did make him feel marginally better. He at least pulled himself back up to standing. “Thank you.”

She tapped her chin once. “...Any chance she likes half-made gadgets? ‘Cause I have a  _ bunch _ of those.”

“No, she likes… um… She likes...” Harvey was suddenly drawing a blank on any of Naomi’s preferences. Dear Yoba, was he just the worst significant other in the entire world???

“This might be more difficult than I thought,” Maru said as the door opened and Jodi stepped inside. “Make a list of things she likes,” she conspiratorially whispered. “We can brainstorm at lunch--Jodi!” Maru turned a megawatt customer service smile on Jodi. “More cough syrup for Vincent?”

“Yes, please. Poor baby’s probably going to be sick during Winter Star.”

“Ah, happens to the best of us,” Maru said as Harvey slipped into the backrooms. A list of things that Naomi liked… he could do that… hopefully.


	2. Chapter 2

_ 12:43 pm _

_ Forty-three hours remaining _

Naomi stopped on the steps up to the saloon and knocked her boots on the side of the building a few times to kick off the excess snow. While she was glad for the downtime that winter brought her to pursue other passions besides farming, she could do without the eternal snow. The twinkle lights that had popped up on all the buildings in town recently made it more bearable, but she was definitely looking forward to winter’s end. 

Her fingers and thighs had gone a little numb with the long walk from the mines down into town, but it was worth it the moment she pushed open the door and a wave of warmth rushed to greet her. Much better. The Stardrop Saloon was always unusually empty during the lunch hours, and today was no exception. Only Shane and Emily were inside; she was organizing wine bottles on the back shelves while he stared sourly into his mostly empty glass.

“Emily,” Naomi said, making certain that the door was shut solidly behind her. “I have that amethyst you requested.”

Emily’s face lit up as bright as the tree in the town square. How she managed to be so effervescent all time was beyond Naomi, but she appreciated her friend for it all the same. 

“Oh, perfect! Let me just go get my purse.” She disappeared behind the swinging doors to the back rooms as Naomi walked up to the counter. 

“How come you never bring me gifts?” Shane asked, mouth turned down in what Naomi was pretty sure was a fake frown. Always hard to tell with Shane.

She hauled her bag up onto a stool to fish around for the amethyst. “I brought you hot peppers all the time this past summer,” she retorted, shoving aside a bundle of cave carrots.

He scoffed and picked up his flavored sparkling water to gesture with like a fine wine. “That was six months ago now. Starting to feel like you forgot me.”

“Uh huh.” Naomi gave him a very disbelieving look, tinged with a smile, as Emily returned.

“Thank you so much for this! Haley is impossible to shop for,” she said with a roll of her eyes.

“I can imagine. Hey, does Gus have a pizza in the back?” Naomi nodded towards the doors leading to the kitchen.

“One’s about ready to come out of the oven soon.”

“Give it to Shane here and put it on my tab,” Naomi requested.

Emily nodded, a knowing grin on her face. “You got it.”

Naomi looked over at Shane, whose face was a whole mix up of emotions and he couldn’t seem to decide on just one. He glanced her way and gave her a slight scowl. Ah, he apparently went with his usual fare--distrust.

“Well now you’re just showing off,” he said in a tone that didn’t sound near as peeved as he probably hoped it did.

Naomi grinned at him. “Maybe a little.”

He huffed and looked away, ears tinted just slightly pink. Shane was a good hearted person, deep deep down, and Naomi was rather determined to find the soft nougaty center of him no matter how hard he tried to keep her at arm’s length. At least now he didn’t tell her to buzz off any time she so much as said hello. Progress.

“So are you excited about your first Winter Star in Pelican Town?” Emily asked, bubbling with her usual enthusiasm.

Naomi smiled, nodding. “Yeah, I am. I’m sure you do it a lot different than Zuzu does. So it’ll be fun to see.”

“You all settled for your Secret Friend?”

The town-wide gift exchange had been a surprise, but Naomi had lucked out with getting Gus and that the travelling cart had a whole carton of oranges the very next day. She was planning on giving him a few oranges along with a jar of homemade pound cake mix and some marmalade that could be melted into a lovely sauce.

“Pretty settled. Need to do some cooking still, but it shouldn’t take very long.”

Emily chuckled. “Cutting it a little close, aren’t you?”

“I guess so… but I still have what… five days?”

Shane lifted his head suddenly and tuned back into the conversation, a strange look on his face.

“Winter Star’s on the twenty-fifth,” Emily reminded, as if Naomi needed reminding.

“I know it is,” she replied, matching her tone. “And today’s the twentieth.” Wasn’t it?

Emily shook her head, eyes going wide. “Today’s the twenty- _ third _ .”

“Might want to lay off the sauce there, Naomi,” Shane chimed in, sounding proud of his little joke.

“ _ Shane _ ,” Emily said, eyebrows lowering in a rare disapproving look.

Shane was unaffected. “Oh, sorry, am I not allowed to make those jokes yet?”

“Wait, wait.” Naomi held up a hand, stopping them both. “Today’s the twenty-third??

Emily nodded as Shane shrugged a shoulder. “Eh, maybe Lewis got it wrong,” he mumbled into his cup.

Horror bloomed as her jaw hit her collarbone. “Oh  _ no _ .” Oh, this was awful. 

Emily reached out a hand towards her. “It’s okay! If you need help fixing the gift for your Secret Friend, we can help you.” 

Shane blew out a breath. “Man, I wish I could, but I don’t want to.”

Emily’s hand swung to land a practiced smack on his shoulder.

How had Naomi lost track of three whole days? Granted she’d been spending a  _ lot _ of time in the mines recently… and the work down there got rather monotonous after a while. Oh, this was terrible. What was she going to do?

“It’s not the Secret Friend… it’s… it’s Harvey,” she explained, twisting her fingers. Harvey, her very sweet, wonderful, brand new boyfriend who she’d yet to get a gift for. And on their first Winter Star no less. She should just find the nearest rock and crawl under it.

“The doc?” Shane asked, eyebrow lifting.

Emily clapped her hands a few times, face back to ecstatic delight. “I knew it! I knew Haley was wrong! You two were just too cute during Open Mic Night!!”

Shane’s face had gone blank. “I didn’t know you two were… together.”

“It’s new…” Naomi offered. He nodded once and turned abruptly to face forward again.

“Ooooh, this is perfect,” Emily declared, apparently the only one in the room feeling good about anything right now. “We’ve known Harvey for years! He likes… um…” She stopped and thought for a moment. “He likes…”

“Pumping my stomach and being a stick in the mud,” Shane grumbled.

“Shane,” Emily chastised, hands landing on her hips in a very Haley fashion. They were sisters after all.

Naomi knew plenty of things that Harvey liked, that was not the problem. Trouble was she’d ‘spent’ some of the bigger ticket items on their most recent celebration.

She started pacing; she always thought better when she was moving. She’d thought of the birthday surprise while she was cleaning out her chicken coop. Perhaps she could come up with an immediate solution right here in Stardrop if she just moved fast enough.

“Maybe get him some really nice coffee? He’s always buying coffee here, and there’s a roastery over in Grampleton,” Emily offered.

“No, this has to be  _ good _ . His birthday was just a few weeks ago and I nailed that.”

“Gross,” Shane replied.

“ _ Shane _ .”

Naomi bit her lip to keep from blushing at Shane’s rather accurate assessment and focused on her problem at hand. She just needed to focus, if she doubled-down she could come up with a solution. It’d always worked for her in the past.

“If I’d just held onto the cap…” she mused. Shane made another face and Emily took his drink away. Naomi sighed, nothing for it now, and turned back to her friends. “What am I going to do? Knowing him he’s done something very thoughtful and here I am, scrambling around two days ahead of time.”

Harvey deserved a better girlfriend than this.


	3. Chapter 3

_ 4:27pm _

_ Forty hours remaining _

Of course it would be today of all days that there was a near constant stream of visitors to the clinic. Harvey barely had time to sit down, let alone take a proper lunch break. He did manage in the few breaths between sinus infections and cold consultations, to write down a rather extensive list of things that he knew Naomi liked into the small journal he kept in his breast pocket.

At the blessed end of the day, as Maru was not too subtly getting Clint to leave the lobby already, he thumbed through the several pages of notes. If nothing else, it proved that he wasn’t as inattentive a boyfriend as previous evidence may have claimed. He knew Naomi, knew her well. That was some comfort.

Maru clapped her hands as she returned to where Harvey was musing in the back examination room. “Alright. What do you got?”

Harvey heaved a breath and skimmed over the page he was looking at. “She likes sunrises, her cat, Chicken, pretzel bread, and she likes her hair being… being played with--” He cleared his throat and flipped to another page, cheeks tingeing slightly.

Maru was unphased. “Of course, she does. She’s human, isn’t she? None of these are potential gifts though.”

That’s what he was thinking too. He glanced over the rest of the page-- _ Antiques Roadshow _ reruns, that golden rose necklace she’s always wearing, the color and the plant mint. Ah! Here was a gift. “Melons!” He stabbed a finger at the word on the page. “She loves melons.”

“Do you… have a melon stashed somewhere?” she asked slowly.

His face fell. “...no. Um…” He flipped to another page, feeling the panic from this morning start to creep back in the door. “She likes the fall, and the smell of freshly tilled earth, and tulips, and--”

“Oh! Tulips?” Maru snapped her fingers, a grin breaking out across her face. “I think I saw Joja had some tulips in yesterday. Get that! That’s perfect.”

Harvey frowned and flipped to another page. “Yeah… I could…” he sighed.  _ Videos of newborn kittens, Clean Sheet Night, Billie Holiday. _

“Why are you disappointed?”

He shut the journal and put it back in its pocket. “It’s… it’s not good enough.”

“What do you mean it’s not good enough?” Maru protested. “Girls love getting flowers, I’m told.”

Harvey ran a hand through his hair. “Do you know what she did for me for my birthday?”

“No,” she replied in an eager tone that  _ begged _ for further explanation.

He held up a hand so he could tally her gracious acts off on his fingers. “She planned a picnic with all my favorite foods  _ that she handmade _ , she gave me an aviator cap with  _ matching goggles _ , and then she coordinated with a friend of hers to get us a ride in a bi-plane.”

“Is that a plane who likes planes but also likes helicopters?” she teased with a grin.

But he was not in the mood for jokes. “ _ Maru _ . I got to steer the biplane.  _ I flew an airplane _ \--she gave me my lifelong dream for my birthday!” He huffed a breath, eyes wild. “I can’t just get her a bouquet of store-bought tulips after that!”

“No, you can’t…” she mused, thinking deeply.

Knowing Naomi she’d probably already figured out something just as wonderful, if not more so, as the plane ride for him. Strange to bemoan how thoughtful and generous his girlfriend was, but here he was. She deserved something wonderful, something perfect. Not just because she’d given him the best birthday he’d ever had, but because she was Naomi. She always deserved wonderful and perfect things. Maybe he should get her… Drat, he was hoping that a run up would help him come up with a plan. No such luck.

“Maybe you need inspiration from somewhere else,” Maru suggested.

He looked over at her. “What do you mean?”

“Well, like… Sam ended up being my Secret Friend so I’ve made a deal with Gus that he’ll bake Sam’s favorite pizza--triple pepperoni--the morning of Winter Star. See? That’s good gift giving. Doesn’t have to be big, just thoughtful.”

“I already have my Secret Friend settled--What did you get Penny?”

Despite her skin tone, Harvey was pretty sure she blushed. As if her appreciation for Penny wasn’t so obvious that even he had spotted it. “Oh, um… n-nothing special,” she said in a quieter tone, a hand rubbing at the back of her neck. “Just a… a book.”

“What kind of a book?” he coaxed.

“I got her the exact edition she had when she was a kid of  _ The Velveteen Rabbit _ , which was her favorite book when she was five,” she finished quickly.

Well that was a very good gift, but not very helpful for him personally. Still. “Are you sure you’re not dating?”

Her whole face went scarlet for a moment and then she turned on him. “We’re not focused on my love-life right now, we’re focused on yours. So what’s Naomi’s Velveteen Rabbit?”

Harvey pulled back out his journal, flipping rapidly through pages, and then strained to quickly think through every conversation he’d ever had with her. “I have no clue,” he eventually admitted.

“When are you seeing her next?”

“I’m supposed to go to Cherry Wine for dinner tonight.”

“Good. Try and figure it out.”

The panic that had been hovering fully set in now. “But that only gives me  _ one day _ to find this perfect present,  _ if _ it even exists.”

Maru clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Believe in the magic of Winter Star, Harvey. And in our ability to beg, borrow, or possibly steal the perfect present from someone in this town.”


	4. Chapter 4

_ 7:27 pm _

_ Thirty-seven hours remaining _

Back in the old weathered house in Cherry Wine Farm, Naomi bit her lip as she stirred the pot of chili, frowning in deep concentration. All afternoon she’d been struggling through what to get Harvey for Winter Star and she had basically nothing to show for it. The best idea that she had so far was getting ‘him’ some lingerie, which honestly felt like kind of a cop out. More of an anniversary present than a Winter Star one anyway and really, could she not do any better than that?

She was distracted from her problem as the plop of something dropping into her chili met her ears. She looked down just in time to see her mother’s necklace sinking like the  _ Titanic _ into an ocean of beans and tomatoes.

“Ah!” Quickly, she fished it out, burning her fingers in the process but saving the chili and the necklace. She rinsed it off, making sure that there weren’t any remnants hiding amongst the petals of the gold rose. It’d originally been a gift from Naomi’s father to her mother back when they were just dating. He’d saved for months to be able to afford the tiny gold rose with a small fleck of a diamond in the center for their first Winter Star. Even her parents were better at gift giving than she was.

She inspected it for a moment, noticing that the clasp had broken on the chain. Not surprising; the necklace was older than she was and Naomi had hardly taken it off once she’d inherited it. Great, the cherry on top of a banner day. She put it down next to the aloe vera on the kitchen table, making a mental note to find out if Clint ever did any jewelry work or if he was strictly a sword and shield man when she had some cash to spare again.

With stinging fingers, she turned back to the sink, alternating between running them under cold water and sucking on them. A gust of cold air rushed across the floor to chill her toes as the front door opened.

“Hey, honey,” Naomi said, not looking up from rubbing harshly at her fingers. She dried them off on a towel and frowned down at the pinked tips. This day just kept getting better.

“Hello,” Harvey replied. He walked up and pressed a kiss to her temple, the now familiar brush of his mustache tickling just slightly. “What happened?”

“Oh, just burned my fingers,” she said, dismissively. She started to turn back to the pot on the stove, but Harvey caught her hand.

“Let me see.” He adjusted how his glasses perched on his nose as he held her hand up for careful inspection. Ever the doctor, she thought with an internal smile. 

“Are you going to kiss it and make it better?” she asked, grinning a little.

“I can do better than that. Do you still have…” He turned and nodded towards the kitchen table. “Perfect. Here, have a seat.”

After pulling out a chair for her, he quickly busied himself, fetching a paring knife and a plate with a great deal of familiarity. He must have really been paying attention during his last few visits to her house, she realized. Sitting next to her, he removed a smaller leaf from the aloe vera he’d given her on their second date, and started to cut it open.

“You don’t have to do this,” she protested mildly. 

“No, it’s fine,” he insisted.

“But you’ve been doctoring all day--I don’t want you to feel like you have to work when you’re here.”

“It’s not work if it’s you,” he replied simply, not looking up from where he was carefully scoring the opened leaf.

How did he do that? Just say these breathtakingly honest phrases as if they were the simplest thing in the world? She stared at him, palpably feeling her heartbeat thrum in her chest for a few seconds. What a  _ good _ man he was… and how lucky was she to have met him, let alone attracted his attention like she had? 

“Alright, give me your hand, please.” He took it gently and rubbed the scorred leaf across her fingertips, soothing the sting almost instantly. Of course, his general comforting presence didn’t hurt anything either.

“How do you know how to do this? Study natural medicine for a bit?”

He glanced up at her, mouth twisting in a chagrined smile. “I… was a boy scout for a few years in middle school,” he admitted in a low tone.

She laughed, utterly delighted. “Of course you were. I bet you were a good one too.”

“They didn’t make me patrol leader for nothing,” he answered with a smile. He squeezed her hand before he let it go. “Wait for the gel to dry and then you’ll be good to go.” He stood to dispose of his tools as she blew on her fingers.

“Thank you.” She flexed her hand and then looked back to the stove with a frown. “Gonna be interesting finishing dinner one-handed.”

“I can finish,” he volunteered with an eager smile. “What needs doing?” 

There he went again, making her heart audibly thud with just a simple phrase. Maybe it said more about her than him that these small gestures of sharing responsibilities meant the world to her. Combined with the fact that he didn’t even seem to consider them anything but just general decency… yeah, it definitely said more about her than him. But she was grateful for it all the same.

“Cornbread will be ready to come out of the oven in a few minutes. But until then the chili needs to be watched so it doesn’t boil over,” she instructed, picking up his sport coat as he took it off. 

“Yes, chef.” He saluted with a smile then unbuttoned and rolled the sleeves up on his shirt as he turned to the pot on the stove. Oh, that was a good look on him, Naomi noted.

As she hung up his coat at the door, she stopped and just admired him for a minute. While he was often blushing and plagued with more than his fair share of anxiety, at times it all burned away into an unexpected and…  _ attractive _ poise and confidence. She’d only previously witnessed it before while he was working with patients in his clinic. And now here in her kitchen. 

The idle thought crossed her mind of how well he fit there. Though as she watched him a minute more it grew from how well he fit there to how much he… belonged there, in her kitchen, in her life. Like a missing puzzle piece. Before too many more idle thoughts could gather and intimidate her more, she shook them out of her head. It was too soon for musings like that… wasn’t it?

She pulled her apron off the hook, interrupting his workflow to slip it over his head and then tie it around his waist to protect his shirt. He chuckled as he read the print across the front: ‘What’s Cookin’, Good Lookin’?’ 

“You put the apron on the wrong person,” he protested with a smile as she came around to face him again.

“I did not,” she replied, deadly serious. To prove her point and just because he was there, she cupped his face and pulled him down for a warm kiss, full of thoughts and feelings that were all too soon to say but were present nonetheless. When she pulled away, she noticed that there were now three aloe vera dots on his blushing cheek. Another good look on him.

He cleared his throat and looked down at the chili, giving it a purposeful stir. “Well… apparently, I should cook more often.”

She smiled. “Even if you don’t… I’m very grateful to have you in my life.”

He looked up and swiftly cupped her neck to pull her in for another kiss, more heated than the last yet still tender. Her knees went a little weak as she leaned against him, fingers curling over the top of the apron. Dear  _ god _ , he was good at this--precise and gentle, yet insistent. The hissing of the chili nearly bubbling over interrupted them, and they both pulled away with pink cheeks and soft smiles this time. 

“Did you have a good day?” she asked after a minute, leaning against the counter and watching him.

He nodded a little absent-mindedly, as if his mind suddenly travelled a thousand yards away. “Yeah… busy. You?” He looked over towards her.

“Oh, yeah.”  _ Realized that I’m a terrible girlfriend and am this close to ruining our first Winter Star. _ “Busy, but good.”

He nodded again and gave the chili far more focus than it needed. “So I was… wondering… did… did you have any favorite books as a child?” 

Ah, this was the Harvey she knew and… appreciated. Not that she minded confident Harvey, but he was elusive. Still, he was always endearing no matter how he was.

“Oh, I had a few. There was a time when I only wanted to be read this book about counting dogs. I think my parents hid it after a while, but I don’t remember the title. How about you?”

He grimaced and muttered something that sounded like, “Hardy Boys…”

“I had a Nancy Drew phase too. No shame.”

His grimace transformed into a slightly bashful smile. “It’s morphed into a love of mystery novels, but I think you already knew that.”

She did already know that--especially mystery novels of the historical bent, if his bookshelf was anything to go by. Oh, could this be a gift idea? Eh, it was a little bit lame but it was better than nothing.

“This year has flown by,” she mused, watching the already fallen snow be blown around by the wind outside through the window. “Hardly believe Winter Star’s already here again.”

“Did your family celebrate much?”

She nodded, looking his way now. “Oh, yeah. Lots of parties, the house was decorated inside and out, and Mom would always drag us to church.” Naomi surveyed what she could see of her decidedly undecorated farmhouse for a moment. “She’d be disappointed to see my lack of festive spirit, but there wasn’t room in the budget this month,” she sighed.

“There’s always next year,” he encouraged gently.

“Exactly. Hey, when do you want to do our Winter Star?”

His eyebrows knitted together. “Hm?”

“I know that the morning is booked up with the town celebration, but it’d be nice to have our own celebration, don’t you think? Just the two of us…?” He paused and for a moment, hope glimmered. Maybe he thought it was too soon, maybe she’d somehow luck out of this.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’d like that.” He smiled softly, melting her heart and immolating her with guilt at the same time. How could she have even considered not celebrating with him? “Does… tomorrow evening work for you?”

Oh great, that meant she had even less time than previously assumed. That seemed about right actually with the way the rest of the day had gone, actually. 

She slapped a smile on her face and nodded. “That’s perfect. We can exchange gifts, make mulled wine, and I don’t know… put tinsel on the aloe vera maybe.”

He laughed slightly and they were both quiet for several seconds. She  _ had _ to figure something out for him tomorrow. Something good, something meaningful, something that didn’t say ‘I forgot about you and this was all I could do’. Lingerie and mystery novels were  _ not _ going to cut it. Harvey deserved a good and wonderful Winter Star--well, Harvey deserved a good and wonderful everything, but she could start with Winter Star.

The timer dinging made them both jump slightly and swap chagrined smiles. 

“I think my fingers are dry now if you’d like to set the table,” she offered, opening the drawer with the potholders.

“Of course.” He let her take the helm at the stove as he stepped away to hunt down the spoons. Opening the oven sent a blast of heat and delicious smells swirling out the kitchen. Chili and cornbread was a perfect dinner for a cold winter night. “That smells wonderful.”

Naomi smiled as she pulled out the loaf and set it down on an empty burner to cool. “Do you want to know my secret?”

He looked up from the stack of mail he was carefully scooting to one side of the table. “Sure.”

“I put brown sugar in it. Makes it a bit sweeter. Don’t tell Jodi.” She pointed an accusatory finger at him and he nodded with a grin.

Harvey picked up the aloe vera and then frowned down at the table. “What happened here?” he asked, picking up the delicate necklace.

She glanced over her shoulder as she negotiated the cornbread out of the pan. “Oh, the clasp broke. Had to rescue it from the chili actually, it’s how I burned my fingers.”

“You love this necklace,” he said, sounding a little bit sad.

She focused down on the chili, oddly touched that he not only noticed but empathized. “Yeah, it was my mom’s,” she said, softly. “But I’ll get a new chain for it in the spring. It’ll be fine.” 

She reached up to a high shelf, struggling on tip toe to pull down the bowls. After a moment, a hand rested in the small of her back and Harvey handed two bowls to her with a gentle smile. She smiled back at him. “Thanks. So do you doctor your chili with sour cream and cheese or are you a purist?”

“Purist, please.”

“Correct answer.”


	5. Chapter 5

_ Winter 24 _

_ 8:43 am _

~~_ Twenty-four  _ ~~ _ Twelve _ _ hours remaining _

Harvey hadn’t originally planned to spend the night at Naomi’s. But after dinner, it was very difficult to convince himself to leave the warm, cozy farmhouse and Naomi. And, besides, he really didn’t want to walk back all the way back to town to sleep alone. So he didn’t, and he didn’t. 

Instead, Harvey awoke the next morning wrapped around Naomi and was deeply content with staying there as long as possible. She seemed to be of a like mind, as she didn’t get out of bed till nearly six-thirty, and even then it was with much reticence. They were still building a morning routine together, but his favorite part so far was sipping piping hot coffee as they strolled across empty fields, hand in hand, the winter sun just peeking over the pine trees. He wheedled out an extra hour of her company by following her around through her morning chores on the farm. Her, patiently giving him small tasks, and him, eager but probably not all that helpful in the end.

Together, they tended the chickens and the goats (Anastasia had become a very friendly little kid). He helped her harvest the last of her red cabbages from the greenhouse and then they carried the basket over to the selling bin.

“Don’t you have to open the clinic today?” Naomi asked as she sorted which cabbages she was going to sell and which to keep. There didn’t seem to be a pattern--or at least, none that Harvey could detect.

“Yes, unfortunately,” he replied, frowning. He held up a cabbage for her inspection and she nodded it over to the bin. 

“Harvey, it’s a quarter till nine right now.”

It-- wait. No, was it? He checked his watch and his eyes about popped out of his head.

“Oh, Yoba!” He smacked a hand to the side of his forehead and immediately turned to run down the path to town. He made it about twenty steps before he realized he’d forgotten something very important. So he stopped and turned around, jogging back to a grinning Naomi. He cupped her cheeks to give her a swift yet heartfelt parting kiss, before turning to hurry to town. 

“See you tonight!” she called after him.

Harvey was only able to maintain the jog till he was out of sight of Cherry Wine, downgrading into a speedy power walk. Oh, he was going to regret this tomorrow. He spent most of the last ten minutes of the journey internally cursing his decision last night to not drive, mixed with cursing that he wasn’t in better shape. It was nearly fifteen minutes after the hour by the time he made it to Pelican Town. Maru was waiting for him on the front step of the clinic--he really needed to give her her own set of keys one of these days.

As Maru noticed his arrival, a knowing smile spread across her face. “Now that’s a walk of shame if I ever saw one,” she commented as he fished his keys out of his pocket.

While he certainly was not ashamed, he wasn’t going to swap tawdry details. “Good morning, Maru,” he replied simply, unlocking the door and flipping on the lights.

Maru followed him into the clinic, flipping over the open sign. “Good morning, Maru, he says. Pretending like he’s not wearing yesterday’s clothes, he is.”

“Talking like Yoda, you are.” 

She sighed, sounding very put upon. “Fine, I’ll stop.” 

He lobbed a grin at her before he went upstairs as quickly as his crying calves would let him. Hastily, Harvey threw himself though some semblance of his morning routine--the bare minimum to make himself sanitary enough to be around other people. Though it was always when he was most in a rush is when things would go missing. This morning, his usual tie had gallivanted off to countries unknown. Hurrying around the apartment, nearly tripping over the stack of shoeboxes he kept his favorite model planes in for safekeeping, he couldn’t spot it. Till he remembered he’d worn it to and then left it at Naomi’s. Well, guess he was going to go without a tie today.

Adjusting his naked collar, Harvey headed back downstairs, dreading the possibility of a lobby of people already waiting for him. But when he dared to poke his head out, there was only Maru and Robin heading out the front door with a bag in hand.

“I… expected there to be more people,” Harvey said, stepping out and adjusting his lab coat. He then noticed that in his haste he’d put it on inside out.

“Give it time. You open the clinic, they will come,” Maru said before taking a  _ very _ noisy sip of her cocoa and giving him a pointed look. “So… how was last night?”

The tips of Harvey’s ears went as red as the holly everyone thought was cursed for some reason. “I… um… ah--”

“No, no, not that.  _ Yoba _ .” Maru rolled her eyes. “I meant the  _ present _ . Were you successful?”

“ _ Oh _ . Yes, yes, I was! I found something. You know that rose necklace Naomi’s always wearing?” His hand drifted to the base of his throat, as if to apparently demonstrate for Maru what a necklace was in case she’d never heard of one.

“I don’t, but I’ll take your word on it.”

“The clasp broke on the chain. I… I think it’d be a good gift to get her a new one.”

She nodded a few times, thinking. “Thoughtful… personal… useful. I think we have a winner.”

He smiled. “I think so too, just…”

“No. No just. It’s a good present that’s not store-bought tulips. Stop worrying.”

“I’m not worried about that.” He held up two hands in surrender, before dropping them into his pockets with a sigh. “I just don’t think I’ll be able to afford it.”

Maru gave Harvey a very strange look. “What do you mean, you’re a doctor--”

“In a country clinic with barely forty patients,” he finished for her.

“But we’ve seen a million people this week alone.”

“And none of them have paid their bills yet.”

Further discussion was stopped as the front door swung open with a blast of cold air and a digital chime. Pierre and Lewis  _ and _ Marnie all were trying to jostle each other out of the way to be able to claim they arrived first. Here was the pre-holiday rush he’d been expecting. He quickly ducked into the back, letting Maru do what she did best and sort them into a working order.

As Harvey waited for the first patient to be sent in, he thought back to Naomi and the necklace. Of course, he could always buy a cheaper chain, didn’t  _ have _ to be real gold. But he wanted it to be good quality, something that would last… well, last a lifetime. Now if only he could afford it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Year's still counts as the holidays, right? Right.

_ 12:08 pm _

_ Eight hours remaining _

With a deep-chested grunt, Naomi cast her line downriver. The small plop of the hook slipping beneath the calm surface was not nearly satisfying enough. Though right now canonfire would probably not be satisfying enough, she mused as she gnawed on her lower lip. She just needed to catch this damn tiger trout for Jodi, but so far it had eluded her, as had many things lately. Can’t catch a fish, can’t find an adequate gift, can’t, can’t, can’t--

“You know, I’d say--” a voice spoke suddenly. It was only because she was tense as a drawn bowstring that Naomi about jumped out of her boots when she heard it, an equally startled noise leaping from her mouth.

She turned her glare away from her hook in the water to see Shane standing to her left on the bridge and giving her a very strange look.

“You good?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. She nodded tensely, and turned back to her line. “I was going to say to take it easy on the fish, but we all knew those slippery bastards had it coming.”

She grunted, feeling a slight tug on her line. Quickly, she went to reel it in, but only managed to haul in an empty Joja cola can. As she re-baited her hook, Shane found a comfortable spot on the bridge to lean against and opened a bag of pungent-smelling ring-shaped chips. Lunch break, apparently.

“I take it you still haven’t found a present for the Doc,” he said around a mouthful of chips.

She glanced his way as she internally debated the merits of perhaps moving further downstream. “I—no. Not exactly.” She cast her line out again. After a few muted crunchy chewing noise filled but otherwise silent seconds had passed, she glanced his way again and sighed. “I finally cracked and went to that bookstore in Grampleton this morning. Got him a murder mystery novel set in the Wright brother’s bicycle shop,” she spat.

“Well he’ll like that. He’s always reading that kind of junk.”

She grimaced. “Yeah, I know he’ll like it. That’s not the problem.”

There was another very long pause. If Emily were here, she would have narrowed in on what Naomi was not wanting to say, but desperately needing to communicate the moment she laid eyes on Naomi. But Emily wasn’t here. All Naomi had was Shane and his chips. Neither of whom were very helpful in a crisis.

Surprisingly, however, Shane sighed a sigh that wasn’t near so loud or put upon as she was half-expecting and asked, “What’s the problem?”

She shook her head and made a half-hearted attempt to bob the hook in the water. “Never mind, forget it.”

“Hey.” Shane batted a hand on her shoulder. “Dismissive emotional distance is my schtick. Don’t go stealing my schtick, Wynn.”

Naomi gave him a long look that upturned into a smile against her best effort. Since he offered, she decided to lay out the problem that had been turning over and over in her mind since last night without any solution. “Do you know what my dad got my mom their first Winter Star together?”

“Obviously not.”

“He got her a necklace that she wore everyday until she died,” she answered. A hand drifted to the base of her throat. Even with the scarf and high collar of her crimson jacket, it still felt naked. “And I’ve worn it everyday since then.”

Shane let out a low whistle. “Damn, so the pressure’s on, huh?”

“Yeah...” Though somehow that wasn’t the problem. Maybe  _ that _ was the problem--that she couldn’t figure out what the problem was. Or perhaps she was only inventing a problem where there actually wasn’t a problem at all and--and now she sounded like Harvey.

Shane waved a dismissive hand, before grabbing another handful of chips. “You’re overthinking this. Doc’s easy-going, low-expectations. I’m sure he’ll like the book just fine.”

Naomi shook her head, reeling her line in as she gave the tiger trout up for a lost cause. “But I don’t want to just meet low expectations. I don’t want to get him something that he’ll just  _ like _ .” She looked down the river, jaw working as she tried to somehow find the right words to pin her thoughts to the wall. “I--I want to get him something that he’ll  _ love _ , something that’ll… that’ll last a lifetime.”

Her eyes widened as she looked at the words that had just come out of her mouth. Was that right? ...It was.

“Shit, Naomi. Didn’t know you were that serious,” he replied in a low voice.

“I… didn’t know either...” 

She’d always known that she was certainly sweet on Harvey, had been for a very long time now. But there was a great big gap--a cavern really--between being sweet on, even willing to date, and being around for a lifetime. When she’d crossed it, she wasn’t really sure. But here she was on the other side, with no intention of ever travelling back.

“Well, now I really can’t just give him a novel,” she muttered. Not that her realizing this changed the reality of anything, but somehow it still put her further behind than she was when she’d started this conversation. Not only was she going to ruin a first Winter Star with Harvey, her very kind and handsome new boyfriend, she was going to ruin the first Winter Star of Harvey, the man she was apparently in love with.

After nearly a minute had passed, Naomi looked Shane’s way. He was obviously chewing on something, literally and metaphorically. Whatever he was thinking, it apparently didn’t make him very happy. He heaved the loud, put upon sigh she’d come to expect from him and rolled his eyes.

He muttered something she didn’t quite catch.

“What?” she asked.

“I know what you can give the doc,” he said, louder with a heavy degree of resignation.

She waited until he looked her way, trying her best to keep her hopes from getting up too high. “...what?”

“After one of the first times I had an overnight at the clinic, Doc conned me into a lunch at his house as some sort of…” Shane’s eye rolls would put any parlor granny to shame, Naomi decided. “Intervention, I guess. I don’t remember much—probably ‘cause I was drunk during it—but I remember he had these model planes.”

She was right not to get her hopes up. “Yes, he has several shelves full and then some.”

“There’s the ones on the shelves, but he also has some in sh--”

“Shoe boxes,” she finished his sentence. When Harvey had first shown Naomi his collection, she’d assumed that like many collectors he’d simply run out of display space. His grandfather’s prized model was in the box that Harvey’s loafers had come in. It was his favorite model out of all of them--a vintage yellow biplane that his grandfather had gotten after he came back from the war.

“Yeah. For ‘safekeeping’.” Shane did air quotes and rolled his eyes once more for good measure. “Not sure why a shoebox is safer than a shelf, but what do I know?”

She’d wondered the same thing herself, but Harvey had been adamant and she’d long since forgotten the conversation. But Shane had a point. This was useful, personal, thoughtful, and if it was a good enough quality, it could last a lifetime.

“A stand wouldn’t be secure enoug--a  _ shadow box _ .” She snapped her fingers and started immediately pacing across the width of the bridge. “That would be secure enough that it’d be safe, but it could still be displayed so he could enjoy it--Shane, you’re a genius!!”

He lifted his chip bag as if to toast with it. “Don’t say I never did nothing for you.”

“They’re not even that difficult, Robin could absolutely make one--crap, what time is it?” She shoved aside her coat sleeve and glove to check her watch. Nearly twelve-thirty. “Oh, god. I don’t… There might not be enough time.”

Shane shrugged a shoulder. “Can’t hurt to ask.”

“Will you come with me?” Somehow the thought of facing potential failure seemed more palatable with company.

“I guess I have nothing better to do.”

Naomi quickly packed away her fishing pole and cajoled Shane into a jog towards the path up to the mountains. Though she knew down to her very bones that this was the  _ perfect _ gift for Harvey, she couldn’t help but feel every second tick by. And even deeper down than that, a voice wondered, would she be able to afford it?


	7. Chapter 7

_ 2:38 pm _

_ Six hours remaining _

“Marnie!” Even from a room away, Harvey could hear the exasperated tone in Maru’s voice. Not surprising, as Marnie had been dawdling in the lobby for the past twenty minutes for some unknowable reason. Harvey had managed to duck back into his office ten minutes ago, claiming paperwork. Maru wasn’t as lucky. “It’s Winter Star Eve, we need to close early.”

Harvey couldn’t hear Marnie’s response, but she didn’t sound too pleased.

“Yeah, well, leave us a review on Yelp then. We’ll take it under advisement.” And then the door chime sounded. Maru burst into Harvey’s office only a second later.

“That’s everyone! Come on, let’s go!!” Maru proclaimed, one arm half into her coat as she tried to pull her hat on one handed.

Harvey looked up from the form he was half-way through. There was a stack nearly as tall as his computer of paperwork waiting to be dealt with. He slowly capped his pen, mustache twitching with a slight frown.

“I’m going to regret leaving all this come the twenty-sixth.” He had half a mind to stay another twenty minutes and get a quick head start.

But Maru just tossed his coat at him, interrupting his train of thought. “You’ll regret more if we don’t leave soon. Clint closes early too on the twenty-fourth.”

“Right.” He yanked his coat on as he followed her to the door, his sport coat sleeves ending up bunched around his elbows. 

Harvey paused to flip over the little sign in the window and scope what he could see of the town square.

“Any sign of Naomi?” Maru asked, her hand on the doorknob.

“No. Thankfully.” The last thing he wanted was for Naomi to discover this rather desperate move to save Winter Star.

“Go, go, go!!” Maru ducked out the door and Harvey followed, jogging to keep up with her. He may have been a ball of nerves, but Maru was giggling as they rapidly skulked their way to the other side of town.

“Glad you’re… having fun,” he huffed, too out of breath to be anything but focused. 

She grinned. “Seb and I used to do this all the time, run around town and pretend to be spies.” She slowed to a walk as they hit the river, giving Harvey a chance to catch up. “Did you ever do that as a kid?”

“I was more… of a sit out in the back garden… and read type of child,” he answered, still working to get control of his breathing. He really needed to make it a point in the new year to attend Tuesday afternoon workouts more regularly.

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.”

Luckily they made it to the far side of town without being spotted or intercepted by anyone. And even luckier, Clint was still open.

“Clint!!” Maru cried, throwing open the door. Clint looked up, half-way between startled and stricken. “Do you have any jewelry left??”

“Hey Maru, Dr. Harvey--”

“Yes, yes, hi. Hello,” Maru interrupted Clint’s friendly greetings, but stopped when Harvey rested a hand on her shoulder. “Right, sorry. Got excited.”

“Afternoon, Clint. Do you have any jewelry for sale?” Harvey asked, decidedly more calm now that possible victory was only across a counter.

“Of course, hardly anyone ever buys it.” Clint heaved himself off his stool and headed for a door to the back rooms. “Let me go get my tray.”

While they waited, Harvey shrugged off his coat, folding it over his arm. It was awfully warm in here; no wonder Clint lived in t-shirts. Outside it was snowing again. Underneath the coat, Harvey finicked with his nails. A very large  _ thud  _ followed by Clint calling that he was okay broke the tense silence.

“Do you really think you won’t be able to afford it?” Maru asked in a quiet voice. 

Harvey sighed. “I don’t know. It’ll depend…” 

She patted his shoulder. “Cheer up. How expensive can a gold chain even be?” 

As if on cue, Clint returned with several glass covered trays. He set them out neatly on the counter. All manner of jewelry was inside, most of rather impressive quality for a small town blacksmith. Next to every piece was the price written in Clint’s chicken scratch scrawl. 

“... _ Very _ expensive,” Maru answered herself under her breath.

There were several gold chains on the tray, each more out of the realm of possibility than the last. Oftentimes Harvey forgot his relative poverty compared to his peers in the medical community. And then there were times like now. 

On the second tray there was a selection of engagement rings. Harvey stared at them for a moment. If he was going to drop this much cash, maybe he should just go for the gusto. Or maybe he should take Naomi on a fifth date first. 

“Yoba…” he muttered, standing up and running a hand through his hair. This plan was rapidly falling apart before his eyes.

“I have some money set aside,” Maru offered. “Let me loan it to you.”

“No,” he rebuffed her. He didn’t want to go into debt for a present, especially to take Maru’s hard-earned money to do it. He looked back to Clint. “Do-do you ever do sales?”

Clint scratched his chin for a moment. “Since it’s the holidays… I can knock off 20%, how about that?”

Well, that was… better. Not by much though. Moved the price from Pluto to Neptune. Closer, but in the end…

“Come on. Let me loan you the money,” Maru insisted. “You can pay me back next year and I won’t even charge interest.”

But Harvey shook his head. “I don’t want to have to borrow your money, Maru.”

“Well, do you have any other bright ideas? Because this is the best we’ve got and time’s running out.”

As if he needed reminding. “What if…” Unfortunately, an end to that sentence did not suddenly materialize from the vapor. An all too familiar feeling of disappointment started to creep into Harvey’s gut.

“You know,” Clint cleared his throat, making Harvey look up at him. “I do bartering sometimes. Naomi, you know, the… the farmer out at Cherry Wine? She bartered a couple bushels of blackberries this fall for her steel pickaxe.”

“You know, surprisingly, I think the doctor is fresh out of blackberries,” Maru quipped.

“And I don’t own many things worth any value,” Harvey finished. His TV, ancient. The computer, even more ancient. Selling his car seemed a little overkill. Clothes, worthless. Most of his models were just kits from the hobby store. The only one worth any money was the yellow biplane--Wait. 

Harvey turned back to Clint. “Do you ever buy raw materials?”

Clint nodded. “Occasionally. If you have enough, it can be worth a decent amount.”

Maru scoffed. “What, do you have copper ore tucked in your pockets?”

“I have a metal plane model. To be honest, I’m not sure what type of metal it is,” Harvey said quickly. “But it could be melted down into something useful.”

“Wait, the yellow one?” Maru’s eyes were wide as she stared at him. “Are you serious?”

“O-or if you don’t want to melt it, it could be worth a good deal of money to the right collector. I just… I don’t have time to find one myself,” Harvey finished his pitch.

Maru grabbed his shoulder, making him look away from Clint. “Harvey, are you sure? You love that model.”

“I’m positive. Well, Clint?”

Clint regarded him for a breathless moment then nodded once. “I’d like to inspect it first, but I think we’ll have a deal.”

The clouds broke and after two days of panic, dawn arrived. “Great! Let me go get it and I’ll be right back!” Harvey dashed out the door, pulling his coat back on. He didn’t even make it to the river before Maru intercepted him.

“Wait, wait, Harvey. Just stop and think for a second,” she said, stepping into his path.

“I have and this is how I can give Naomi a good Winter Star.” He started to step around her, but she just moved back in the way.

“You told me that your grandfather gave you that plane. Th-that it’s part of the reason why you love planes to begin with. You’ve had it for decades! I know you love Naomi, but… isn’t this going a bit too far?”

“No… No, it’s not. It’s not because… because the plane is just a thing. It’s just a thing that I keep in a shoebox. And Naomi is so much more important to me than any one thing.”

Maru searched his face for a moment then stepped back. “You sure you don’t just want to buy her a ring and get it over with already?” Harvey’s face tinted a little pink, making Maru laugh and bat a hand against his arm. “You thought of that too, didn’t you?”

He gave her a chagrined smile. “Perhaps someday… hopefully. But first, this.”

“Go get ‘er, Doc.” She stepped aside and let Harvey jog away. “I better be your best man!”


	8. Chapter 8

_ 3:14 pm _

_ Five hours remaining _

Shane had fallen behind again, Naomi realized with a glance over her shoulder. He was a few dozen feet behind her, cheeks bright as tomatoes from both the chill and the exertion. She stopped, just barely succeeding at not tapping her feet impatiently, and waited for him to catch up. 

“Sweet merciful Yoba and my old lady’s left shoe,” Shane huffed when he caught up. He bent over to rest his elbows on his knees, breathing audibly. “You could have said that we’d have to go  _ all _ the freaking way  _ back _ to your farm first.”

“It’s not that far,” Naomi insisted as she started walking again.

Shane answered with a long groan that echoed between the pine trees. After a few minutes, she checked to make sure that he was actually walking again. He was, just very reluctantly.

They had to go back to Cherry Wine so Naomi could grab a few pieces of hardwood that could hopefully be constructed into a shadowbox. They were beautiful cherry wood, and, with Robin’s careful craftsmanship, Naomi figured they would be truly astounding when it was finished. They just had to make it to Robin’s before she closed for the day. The cold winter sun was already starting to set as she finally reached the end of the northern path and Robin’s house came into view.

“Come on! We’re almost there!” Naomi called back to Shane, still a few dozen feet behind her.

“You go on ahead… I’ll catch up.” He flapped an arm at her, but doggedly put one foot in front of the other. 

She gripped the wood tighter to her chest and dashed down the steps. Lights were still on inside the house and a plume of smoke was rising merrily from the chimney, both good signs. Maybe she wasn’t too late.

Naomi threw open the front door, making Robin jump behind the desk.

“Oh, thank God, you’re still here,” Naomi blurted, rushing to the desk and dropping her timber onto it with a loud thud.

Robin finished taking off her leather apron and smiled widely. “Hey there, Naomi. Merry Winter Star.”

“Merry Winter Star,” Naomi said quickly, the words losing all meaning in her haste. “I need your help, Robin.”

Robin’s eyes twinkled with amusement. “That’s usually what people who burst into my house carrying cherry logs need.”

The door swung open again, a blast of cold air coming in with a panting Shane who was literally hanging on the doorknob.

“You okay there, bud?” Robin asked. Shane nodded a few times and then remembered to shut the door before immediately dropping down to lie on the floor. Robin gave Naomi a look and leaned over the desk to check on Shane. “Sorry, I haven’t swept in a few days.”

“ ‘S fine… leave me… here… please,” he replied, still sucking in breaths.

“Okay then…” Robin turned her attention back to Naomi. “What kind of help do you need? I was about to close up shop for the holidays.”

Naomi nodded. “I know. That’s why we were running.”

“Why  _ you _ were running,” Shane amended from the floor, pointing an accusatory finger at the ceiling. “ _ I _ was the victim of a hostile takeover of my afternoon.”

“You volun--never mind.” Naomi slapped a hand down on the wood. “Do you know how to make shadow boxes?”

“Sure, they’re not that difficult. Hardest part is making the joints.” Robin picked up one of the logs and inspected it for a moment. “This could make a really beautiful piece.”

“That’s what I’m hoping. Could you make me one?” Naomi held up her hands, picturing Harvey’s yellow airplane in between them. “About twelve inches square, five inches deep? With prongs to hold a model plane?”

Robin nodded. “Sure, no problem--”

“And… could you have it done before eight o’clock tonight?” Naomi asked, her face wincing in trepidation.

Robin’s eyebrows jumped skyward. “Ah… forget about your secret friend, did you?”

Naomi grimaced, that was a kinder option than the truth. “Something like that.”

“It’s for the doc, her  _ boyfriend _ ,” Shane chimed in, sitting up now and dusting off the sawdust and wood curls that had stuck to his hoodie and hair. 

“Thanks, Shane.” Naomi gave him a very flat look as Robin chuckled.

“You know… I had my suspicions about you two. Harvey always seemed awfully sweet on you from the get go.”

Naomi blushed a little, not that she hadn’t already had this conversation before. But Robin was a real adult, an adultier adult with a husband and kids and a mortgage--somehow gentle teasing felt different from her than from Shane or Emily.

“Do you think you could do it?” Naomi asked, pulling them back on track.

Robin’s mouth scrunched to one side as she looked from the logs to the clock above the door. “Couldn’t do any shellac as it wouldn’t be dry in time. But I could cut and fit it together, do some simple carving on the sides.”

Naomi’s mood immediately hit the rafters. They were actually going to do this. Harvey was going to have a great Winter Star after all.

“But,” Robin said, interrupting the  _ Hallelujah Chorus _ currently playing in Naomi’s mind. “Since it’s both a custom job and an extremely rush job… this isn’t going to be cheap, Naomi.”

Naomi swallowed. “How much are you thinking?”

Robin picked up a post-it note and wrote on it, doing some quick arithmetic, before turning it around so Naomi could read it. She immediately felt a little green around the gills.

“Oh boy,” she said in a quiet voice.

Shane managed to stand then and let out a low whistle as he saw the price over her shoulder. “Damn… didn’t know woodworking was that expensive. Should I switch careers?”

“I know it’s a lot, but I have a business to run and I can’t devalue my labor--”

“No, I understand…” Naomi ran a hand through her hair. “It’s a fair price considering…” 

“By the look on your face, I’m guessing it’s out of your budget.”

A very dry and humorless chuckle was the most response Naomi could muster at the moment. Out of her budget was putting it mildly. Farming was a life of highs and lows, plenty and lean, harvest and winter. It’d taken nearly her first full year for Naomi to feel like she wasn’t one wrong breath away from going utterly bankrupt. Now she at least was managing a slim margin of comfort--and Robin’s price was about three margins worth.

Okay, okay, okay. Alternative solutions. She needed a new plan, something like… something like… 

Shane looked between the two women, his face drawn up in concern. “Could you do like a payment plan or something? I mean, Robin, you know Naomi’s good for the money, you’ve built half her farm--”

“Wait,” Naomi stopped him. “What if… could I trade with you instead of doing cash?”

Robin shrugged and a corner of her mouth lifted in a half-grin. “Depends. Unlike Clint, I don’t think I can make use of three bushels of blackberries.”

“How about gold?” Naomi offered, strictly business.

“Ore or bar?”

“A necklace. It’s the real thing, 24 karat, and even has a diamond in it, small but real too.”

Shane’s brow crinkled and he leaned in. “Wait, is this your mom’s necklace?”

She glanced at him before continuing, trying her best to remain detached from her offer. “The chain broke recently, but it’s been kept in good condition.”

“Naomi, Harvey will understand if you d--” Shane started.

“Shane,” Naomi cut him off abruptly. She let out a quick breath and softened her tone. “I know what you’re trying to do and thank you. But I’ve made up my mind.”

“Do you have it with you?” Robin asked.

“Yeah, actually. Was going to stop by Clint’s to see about a new chain, but I got distracted.”

Naomi fished it from the small bag she’d put it in inside her backpack. It glimmered as she held it up. As she looked at it, she felt a twinge of sadness at possibly not having her mother’s necklace anymore. But her mother would have understood. She would have loved Harvey, Naomi knew, and she would have loved the idea of her necklace making a perfect first Winter Star for them. Hopefully, their first Winter Star of many.

Robin caught the necklace in her palm and admired it for a moment. She looked to Naomi for a moment then nodded, taking it from her. “Give me three hours.” And she picked up the wood and disappeared back into her woodshop.

Naomi melted slightly over the desk in relief. They’d actually done it. She sighed a laugh and looked at Shane, who appeared rather concerned and was still slightly frosted in sawdust. She reached over and plucked a wood curl that he’d missed from his hair.

“Thanks for coming with me,” she said, offering him a smile.

He just sniffed and shoved his hands in his pockets, staring down at his shoes. “Didn’t even do anything.”

“No, you did. You were right… to sell my mother’s necklace is a serious step.” Her hand brushed across her empty throat. “But as my mother would say, people are more important than things. And Harvey’s more important to me than most people these days.”

Shane gave her a long look before turning to look at the floor once more. “Lucky guy,” he said quietly, leaning back against the desk.

Naomi picked the last wood curl from his hood. “You’re important to me too, you know.”

He resolutely was not looking in her direction, but she still saw something uncharacteristically honest and tender pass through his eyes. Then he straightened up. “You’ll make me go soft, Wynn, you keep that crap up.”

She grinned at him. “One can only hope.”


	9. Chapter 9

_ 7:57 pm _

_ Zero hours remaining _

Harvey paused as he got out of the car, the deceptively small wrapped gift in one hand and a bouquet of pink tulips in the other, and just looked up at the farmhouse. The sun had long since set, but warm light poured out of every window in the house, casting glowing pools on the freshly fallen snow. As he walked up the stairs to the porch, he could hear Winter Star music playing inside, vintage and jolly. He couldn’t stop the smile from forming on his face.

The last few Winter Stars he’d waded through hadn’t felt terribly bright or cheery at all. At the time, he’d attributed it to lingering grief combined with the malaise of adulthood--no actual holiday could ever hold a candle to a childhood memory of one. But as Harvey stepped through the door into Naomi’s home, he felt more full of holiday spirit than he had in a very long time.

A hearty fire crackled in the fireplace, warming the whole room so much Naomi had cracked open a window. Wonderful smells were spinning through the circulating air--citrus and spices and wine and  _ butter _ . Chicken was curled up on the back of the couch, having made a very cozy nest in the old afghan that was always draped there, and was even dressed festively with a red bow tied onto its collar. Harvey switched the gift to one hand so he could affectionately scratch behind Chicken’s ears as he gazed into the kitchen.

Naomi was at the stove, stirring a pot of something wonderful smelling. Her dark hair had been curled and was pulled elegantly over one shoulder. The full skirt of her green velvet dress swayed as she danced slightly to the music and sang along, a smile hiding in her voice. 

_ “But if you'll really hold me tight, all the way home I'll be warm.” _

She was trying to kill him, he was nearly certain. She also hadn’t appeared to notice his entrance so he set down the tulips on the kitchen table and tucked the gift into his coat pocket as he approached slowly, enjoying seeing her in another one of her elements. Her world always seemed so vibrant and joyful even when she was the only one inhabiting it. 

_ “Oh, the fire is slowly dying, and, my dear, we're still goodbying. But as long as you'd--” _

“Merry Winter Star,” Harvey said, slipping his arms around her waist and stepping close. She gasped quietly, a hand pressing to her chest for a moment, and then laughed breathlessly.

“Happy Winter Star--I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Well, I didn’t want to interrupt you and Mr. Martin,” he replied, taking her right hand in his and returning to swaying to the music. “Don’t stop on my account.”

She shook her head. “I have not had near enough mulled wine to be singing to anyone but Chicken.”

He chuckled and spun her around, smoothly switching hands so they were properly dancing in the kitchen, adjusting the rhythm as one song ended and another began immediately after. The smile Naomi gave him as she came around to face him made his heart shimmer. 

“You’re beautiful,” he said softly, blushing a little in earnest.

She lifted a playful eyebrow. “It’s amazing what a curling iron and some lipstick can achieve.”

He shook his head and pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek. “You’re always beautiful.”

Her grip in his hand tightened for a moment, and she let out a slow breath. “Sheesh, Harvey,” she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder. “Thank you,” she added after a quiet moment. He pulled her closer as his eyes drifted shut and just the music surrounded them. The stress and worry of the last few days melted away.

An angry, bubbling hiss coming from the stove interrupted them. Naomi stepped out of his arms and snatched up her abandoned spoon, soothing the sauce back into order. 

“Whatever that is smells wonderful,” he said, standing next to her at the stove and resting a hand in the small of her back.

“Tastes even better, if I say so myself.” She swiped a finger across the spoon and hummed as it disappeared between her cherry red lips. “Perfect. So I made mulled wine and pound cake and melted some marmalade as a sauce.” She nodded, satisfied, then turned back to him. “I think our Winter Star is ready to commence.”

He grinned and pulled the present from his pocket, making Naomi’s eyes light up. “Where should I put this?”

“Why, underneath the Winter Star aloe vera, of course.”

He looked at the kitchen table and laughed; shiny tinsel had been draped over the leaves. Next to the aloe vera was a surprisingly large box, wrapped in brown paper and tied with a sprig of evergreen tucked into the red ribbon. Looking at the gifts now, Harvey was very glad that he listened to Maru’s advice and had wrapped the necklace in a long and narrow box. The small, square package he’d nearly used would have been rather menacing.

“I figured the tulips were my present,” she said, nodding to where he’d left them earlier and pulling a vase down from a shelf above the sink. 

“Definitely not.” 

She quickly filled the vase with water and opened the tulip package. “Well, thank you for them anyway. They’re lovely.”

“They’re your favorite.”

Her smile crinkled the corners of her eyes. “You know me pretty well, huh?”

“I’m trying to.”

Her face blossomed into something so hopeful and wonder-filled that he just had to close the distance between them and kiss her soundly. One kiss was certainly not enough, but neither was three or four--he’d happily keep kissing her until he found the magical number that somehow expressed his feelings. Somewhere past infinity perhaps.

Though after nowhere near enough, Naomi did pull back just enough to make him pause. Her cheeks had gone pink and her cherry red lipstick had been smudged slightly. “I think you’re wearing as much lipstick as I am right now,” she said, a laugh hiding in her words as she rubbed it off his lips with her thumb.

He kissed her once more, touching his nose to hers as he pulled away. “I don’t mind.”

She smiled again and turned away to finish putting the tulips in the vase, arranging them with a great deal of care.

“So do we have to wait till after food to open presents?” he asked, barely holding back an eagerness he hadn’t felt in a few decades.

She gave him a sly smile. “Given that we’re both adults, I think we can open them whenever we damn well please.”

He nodded a few times, then offered, “Now?”

“Oh, thank god,” she gushed. Naomi snatched up the larger package and dashed to the couch, giggling like a child. Harvey felt much the same as he picked up her present and fell into the seat next to her.

“Open mine first?” he asked, holding out the gift to her.

“Twist my arm, I suppose.” She took it from him and ran her hand over the colorful paper, excitement lighting up her whole face. Efficiently, she tore off the wrapping paper and then flipped open the lid on the box. Her smile fell away into a much more somber wonder.

“You mentioned that the clasp broke on your mother’s necklace so I thought you’d like a replacement…” He studied her face, which was caught somewhere between surprise and distress. “Do you… like it?”

She looked up at him and nodded rapidly. “Of course, I do. I love it. Thank you,” she said, her voice a little hoarse around the edges. She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “It’s so thoughtful, Harvey. It’s… perfect.”

She sniffled as she picked up the chain and held it to her chest. Something was off in her reaction, but Harvey couldn’t quite put his finger on it though. She did seem genuinely pleased… but sad too.

“Here, here,” she said, handing off the surprisingly heavy box to him. “Open yours.”

He just looked at it in his lap for a moment, wondering what in the world she could have gotten him that was this size and shape. Then, deciding to just go ahead and find out, he tore off the paper revealing a beautiful cherry wood shadow box.

“Robin made it, but she let me design the pattern on the sides,” Naomi explained, pointing to the geometric carving on the edges of the box. “I thought that you could put the model plane you got from your grandfather, the yellow one? Get it out of a shoebox so you can actually see it.”

Harvey stared at the box, both touched by how thoughtful and perfect the gift was, and utterly disappointed that he’d managed to ruin it by trading away the model plane. He tried his best to hide the disappointment, to lean into the genuine appreciation he had for the gift, but he’d never been a very good actor or liar so of course Naomi saw.

“Harvey,” she whispered, her hand resting on his shoulder. “Is it… do you not like it?” Her voice had gone thin with worry.

“ _ No _ ,” he assured her, fingers briefly brushing her cheek. “No, I love it. It’s beautiful…”

“But…?”

He stared at her for a moment, waffling between trying to pretend that nothing at all was wrong and wanting to be honest with her… even if that meant probably ruining this Winter Star. Winter Star was more than presents, he decided, and Naomi always deserved the truth.

“I… traded that model to Clint,” he admitted in a low voice.

Naomi frowned. “Why?”

He shrugged a shoulder. “I wanted to give you your necklace back. I know how much it means to you, and I wanted you to have it again.” Her mouth dropped open slightly, bottom lip quivering, and tears started shining in her eyes. 

“Bu-- but your  _ grandfather _ gave you that model, you’d--you--”

“You’re more important to me,” he replied, taking her hand in his and giving it a squeeze. That just made her lip wobble some more, but he was nearly certain it was the good kind of tears. To give her a moment’s composure, he looked down at the box. In the firelight, the fine wood seemed to glow. It really was a beautiful piece. “Besides, all’s not lost. This will fit a few of my other planes.”

Her lip was still quivering, but she nodded and smiled a little. “I… I don’t even know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything.” Noticing the box she was still holding, he squeezed her hand again. “Where’s the rose?” He cast a glance back to where he’d last seen the necklace the day before. “I’d love to see you wear it again.”

Her face fell anew, worrying him that these actually weren’t the good kind of tears at all, and she looked down at the chain still in the box for a second. “I sold it,” she said in a small voice. Harvey instantly frowned--what? “To Robin.”

He was still confused for a moment, then it clicked. Harvey looked down at the shadow box in his lap then at Naomi. “You…” She’d sold it for  _ him _ . Shock flooded his system, followed quickly by the realization of what this meant. That she’d be willing to sell the necklace that belonged to her mother just to make sure that he had a present for Winter Star. Tears thickened his throat. “You’d do that for me?”

She nodded. “You’re more important to me too.” 

Not looking away from her, he set aside the shadow box so he could practically throw himself at her, pressing her back onto the couch, and kissing her like his life depended upon it. How was he--just a simple country doctor with a whole lot of nerves, squishy middle, and the world’s nerdiest hobbies--deserving of  _ her _ ? He wasn’t sure he’d ever know, but he’d be damned before he took her for granted or ever let her forget how grateful he was to be with her.

Her lipstick was thoroughly smudged when he pulled back just enough to press kisses on both of her cheeks and temples. She laughed a little as he kissed her forehead. Admiring her beloved, wonderful face, he cupped her cheeks in his hands to behold her and feel deeply how much he loved her.

“You know, I was hoping that this was where the evening would go,” she said, still smiling and wrapping arms around his neck.

“Evening’s not over. Isn’t there mulled wine and marmalade still?”

“I can always make more,” she retorted, pulling him back for another quick kiss.

He laughed and sat up, pulling her with him. Ignoring everything else but her sounded pretty great right now, but there was one thing he wanted to do first. Wordlessly, he took the necklace from the box still in her hand and carefully fastened it around her neck, smoothing her hair out of the way and just looking at it for a moment. To an outside observer, it was just a bare gold chain--but to him, to both of them, so much more. A perfect first Winter Star, Harvey decided, secure for once in the knowledge that there’d be many more to come. 

“Merry Winter Star, Naomi,” he said, taking her hands back in his again.

“Merry Winter Star, Harvey.” They just smiled at each other for a minute, full of warmth and joy and love. Then she tackled him back on the couch, peppering his face with kisses as he laughed. 


	10. Chapter 10

_ 8:41 am _

_ Winter Star Morning _

Naomi couldn’t decide if it was the holiday or the fresh snow or the fact that she had the best boyfriend on the entire planet, but the world seemed so bright and pure that she couldn’t stop smiling as they walked into Pelican Town the next morning. Harvey smiled back every time he noticed her smiling, which just made her smile more. Really, her cheeks were going to be sore by the time they reached the clinic. 

The town was sparkling and festive, which just made Naomi’s mood become even more euphoric. Everyone was out, dressed in festive winter gear, happily eating and exchanging gifts with each other. Naomi made a beeline for Gus, handing over the basket of orange-themed goodies that she’d prepared for him. He was absolutely delighted and immediately added some of the marmelade to his biscuit, sharing with Marnie next to him.

Naomi rejoined Harvey as Maru was giving him a big hug, loudly declaring how much she ‘love love love’d his gift. She immediately ran off to show it to her father, leaving Harvey to chuckle and look pleased as punch. Together they mingled through the rest of town, swapping happy stories and eating more food than either of them should have.

The enjoyable pattern was interrupted when Robin, with Clint in tow, suddenly appeared in front of the two of them, a knowing grin on her face.

“Having a good Winter Star, you two?” she asked, looking between them.

Naomi threaded her fingers with Harvey’s. “The best.” He blushed--golly, she loved that look on him--and nodded in agreement.

Robin laughed. “Well, good. But I think we’re about to make it even better.” Robin held out a gift that was very obviously a model plane, mummified in green paper. “Happy Winter Star, Harvey. I’m your secret friend.”

“And I’m yours, Naomi,” Clint said, giving her a small square box. Naomi flipped open the lid and pressed her hand to her mouth as she saw her mother’s rose pendant resting on the black velvet. Harvey had a very similar look on his face as he stared down at the half-unwrapped yellow model plane in his hands.

“How did you--” Naomi started to ask.

“Funny story,” Robin said, snapping her fingers and still grinning wider than the Gem Sea. “We were finishing our family Winter Star feast last night, and Maru tells me a very funny story about how she spent most of the last two days helping her dear friend Harvey to find a gift for Naomi. And I realized what you two had done, so I called Clint here and arranged a little trade of our own.” She winked.

“I… I thought you were going to melt it,” Harvey said to Clint.

Clint scoffed and tucked his thumbs into his belt. “I’m obviously not going to melt down an antique plane, Doc, what kind of animal do you take me for?”

Naomi clutched the pendant to her chest. “Thank you, Robin, Clint.” She glanced at Harvey, who seemed to be having trouble with words at the moment. “This means a lot to both of us.” He nodded emphatically.

“Eh, we like you two as a couple,” Robin said, waving a dismissive hand. “Figured we could throw you bone and help you out.”

“Happy Winter Star, Naomi, Harvey,” Clint said, before walking away. Robin winked again and then followed him.

Naomi looked down at the pendant--humbled by not only the sacrifice that Harvey had given for her, but the sense of community that pervaded the entire valley. This place truly was special. When she looked up at Harvey again, his face was the same as hers--utterly astonished and touched and just so, so joyful. She laughed and stretched up to plant a kiss on his still blushing cheek, before taking his hand again and heading off to find more friends to celebrate with. And there wasn’t a doubt in Naomi’s mind that this Winter Star was the best one ever.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy holidays to you, dear reader! Let me know your thoughts below! <3, Kaitlyn


End file.
